Financial Wellness Learning Center

Welcome to the Peoples Bank Financial Wellness Center

Here you can learn about managing money and building a financial future for you, your family and even your business.;
  • Safety & Security
Protecting Yourself from SMiShing and Vishing
They're not typos. Identity theft techniques now include the use of text (SMS) messages and voice mail. Threats from these new approaches are called “Smishing” for SMS fraud attempts and “Vishing” for voice mail fraud attempts.
Learn more
  • Personal
Credit Scores
Every single time you use credit, the details are added to your credit report and used to influence your credit score.
See what goes into your credit score
  • Business
Improving Business Cash Flow
Managing your cash flow isn't just an accounting task—it’s a lifeline for your business.
Read more
  • Personal
  • Safety & Security
Simple Tips to Prevent Check Fraud
While checks offer convenience, they also pose risks, especially when it comes to fraud. Safeguard your hard-earned money with these simple tips.
Learn more
  • Owning a Home
What Home Owners Insurance Doesn't Cover
If you’re ready to buy a home, it’s important to understand homeowners insurance. These policies provide financial protection against damage, theft and personal injury, but there are some nuances to consider.
Read this article to learn more
  • Owning a Home
Ways to Save When Remodeling
Does your house need a “facelift”? If, so you don’t have to move – just spice things up by remodeling.
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  • Business
Equipment Leasing vs. Financing
Choosing between equipment leasing and financing is a crucial decision that can shape your business’s financial future.
Read more
  • Safety & Security
Online Dating Scams
Dating scams start with fake profiles on dating apps or social media. Scammers strike up a relationship with their targets and work to build trust. Sometime later, they make up a story and ask for money.
Read more
  • Business
Business Financing Tips for Women Entrepreneurs
To help women in business finance their companies, here are some helpful resources and funding options available to female entrepreneurs in North Carolina.
Learn more
  • Personal
  • Safety & Security
11 must have digital citizenship skills
Know how to be responsible online: browsing, cyberbullying, privacy, copyrights, research, and more.
Live smart in the online world
  • Safety & Security
Scams Targeting Seniors
Seniors are aggressively targeted by scammers. Learn the red flags to watch out for and common scams that could be attempted on you or someone you love.
Help elders stay safe
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Making Critical Retirement Choices
It's never too early to plan for retirement. The sooner you start, the more options you'll have later.
Get started
  • Business
Best Practices for Growing a Business
Growing a business takes more than just hard work–it requires smart strategies and careful planning.
Read more
  • Business
Prevent Business Check Fraud
Stolen and counterfeit checks can put your hard-earned money at risk. Learn how to spot the warning signs and protect your business from fraudsters.
Read more
  • Personal
  • Safety & Security
How to Safely Use Mobile Payment Apps and Services
Online payment systems like Zelle, Venmo and CashApp let you quickly and easily send money. Learn how to use these apps safely.
Read more
  • Business
Basic Bookkeeping
This Coach session will guide you through basic bookkeeping principles and provide a spreadsheet for you to create both a Profit & Loss Sheet and a Balance Sheet for your business.
Learn how to track the money in your business
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Getting Financially Ready to Live on Your Own
As you step into a new stage of life, by moving out on your own, it’s important that you learn how to establish a foundation that will help for years to come.
Learn how to get ready
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Managing Debt
Debt isn't one-size-fits-all. We have strategies and tools for you to manage debt, based on your unique situation.
Get started
  • Personal
How to Improve Your Credit Score
When it comes to credit scores, there’s almost always room for improvement. If you want to raise your score, you can do a few key things.
Learn how
  • Safety & Security
What is multi-factor authentication?
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could protect your password with another password? Multi-factor authentication gives you this power.
Learn more
  • Personal
Make These Money Moves When Getting Your First Job
Prepare for your fiscal future with helpful tips on how to manage a budget after starting a new job, while learning to spend wisely and save for your future.
Learn what to do with that steady paycheck
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Managing Your Money After Graduation
No matter what you plan to do, this is the perfect time to begin laying the groundwork for your financial future.
View infographic
  • Personal
Navigating Inflation
Inflation may be a normal part of a healthy economy, but it still affects prices, the value of a dollar, and your budget.
Learn about managing the effects of inflation
  • Safety & Security
3 Simple Steps to a GREAT Password
A password is GREAT if it’s both easy to remember and hard to crack. We have tips on ways to create passwords that are both.
Learn how
  • Personal
Preparing for Retirement
Learn how you should prepare for an eventual retirement.
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  • Owning a Home
Before Buying Your First House
If you are like millions of others, owning your own home is a primary financial and lifestyle goal. Just make sure you understand that there can be pros and cons.
Read this article to learn more
  • Personal
Best time to save money on products and services
Timing is everything. If you’re looking to save on your next grill, mattress, TV and so much more, we break it down month-by-month.
Read on
  • Personal
Budgeting Your First Apartment
This guide will teach you what to expect as a first-time tenant so you can rent your first apartment with confidence.
Read more
  • Business
Banking Relationships for Business Growth
Running a business means navigating a constant stream of challenges, from managing cash flow to dealing with changing market demands.
Read more
  • Safety & Security
Cyber Safety at Home
Help make your home a safe digital haven by protecting networks, devices and online lives with these tips.
Read on
  • Personal
Personalizing Your Budget
A budget personalized for you helps give you direction when managing finances and setting goals.
Make your budget work for you
  • Business
Protect Your Business: Heightened Hacker Attempts during Holidays
Cybercriminals never rest, especially during holidays. They take advantage of distractions and busy schedules, increasing their attempts to steal information and infect systems.
How you can stay vigilant
  • Safety & Security
Cybersecurity for Families
As technology continues to evolve, the tools and toys available to your children increase in number and capabilities. Here are tips on how to protect kids and home networks.
Read on
  • Personal
Developing and Using a Wise Borrowing Strategy
Too much, too expensive or the wrong kinds of debt can make life miserable.
Learn how
  • Personal
How to Budget as a College Student
Financial responsibility can be overwhelming for some college students. Careful saving and spending habits can pay off in the long run.
Learn to build a budget
  • Business
Prevent Fraud With Positive Pay
Protect your business from payment fraud while simplifying your account monitoring process.
Learn how
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Get Smart About Credit
Learn about building a good credit record and the importance of an accurate credit report. It will help to ensure that credit will be there when you need it.
Read this article to learn more
  • Personal
How to Teach Your Kids to Be Money Smart
Kids learn best from their parents (or caregivers) and few things are more relevant to success than money “smarts”.
Get started teaching
  • Personal
College Isn't the Only Path
College may not be for everyone. There are alternatives to a four-year program that may make more sense.
Check out these options
  • Personal
Financial Tip: Pay More Than the Minimum on Your Credit Card
How much can you save in the long term by making more than a minimum monthly payment?
See how much you could save
  • Personal
Methods for Merging Couple’s Finances
Merging finances as a couple can be overwhelming. We have some money management tips to make these decisions easier.
Read our tips
  • Personal
How Much Does College Cost?
Beyond tuition, other school-related costs have also increased, such as books, technology and living expenses.
How to plan appropriately
  • Personal
Financial Steps After the Death of a Loved One
Learn about the steps needed to settle the affairs of a loved one who has passed away.
Get started
  • Personal
Preparing a Personal Balance Sheet
A personal balance sheet is a way to measure financial progress. Download our handy guide to preparing your own.
Read more
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Preventing Overdraft Fees
Learn why overdraft fees occur and how to avoid them.
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  • Owning a Home
10 Steps in the Home Buying Process
Looking to buy your first home? We'll walk you through the steps to buying your home and getting a mortgage.
Infographic
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Taxes
By understanding why taxes are important, how to stay on top of your taxes, and the steps for filing, you can avoid the stress of tax season.
Guide to understanding and paying taxes
  • Personal
Savings Goals in Your 20s
Life can move in your 20s. fast so it’s smart to prepare for when those days come. Gain the financial security and confidence you need to make a habit out of saving.
Dig into some savings goals
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Understanding Credit Card Rates
Credit card interest is a fee you pay when you borrow money from your financial institution. The rate determines how much.
Learn why it’s important
  • Personal
Using Credit
Using credit can open up big possibilities, but it can also get you in trouble if you aren’t careful.
Learn about smart borrowing
  • Owning a Home
What is a HELOC?
It can be a smart way to pay for big-ticket items such as home improvements, weddings, vacations, education, debt consolidation, and more.
See how a HELOC works
  • Personal
What’s the difference between APY and APR?
You may have the terms APY and APR referring to bank accounts, loans or credit cards. It’s important to know what each of them means and how they affect you and your finances.
Read on
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Your First Financial Plan
Creating a first financial plan is an essential step towards establishing a strong financial foundation.
Start with these steps
  • Personal
Building a Good Credit Record
A solid credit history can be one of your most useful and powerful financial assets.
Learn how
  • Personal
Building a Savings Cushion
Having a financial cushion is one of the most important things you can do to feel financially secure. We have some ideas that may help.
Read on
  • Personal
Save $1,000 (or more) this year
There are several ways to build a savings account. Starting small may be the way to go.
Try this easy system
  • Personal
How to Pay Off Your Debt Fast
The best way to get out of loan and credit card debt fast is to cut spending, start saving, and consolidate your loans.
Learn how
  • Getting Started
  • Personal
Start Simple with These Budgeting Tips
Tracking your monthly spending, then making a plan to stay within that budget can be an overwhelming task for some people.
Read our tips
  • Business
Banking Tips for Small Business
If all it took was an idea, everybody would be a business owner. Here are some tips on how to make a good idea a good source of revenue.
Read more
  • Safety & Security
Scams and Your Small Business
If you own a small business or are part of a non-profit organization, you spend a lot of time and effort making sure the organization works well. But when scammers go after your organization, it can hurt your reputation and your bottom line. Learn the signs of scams that target businesses.
Read more
  • Safety & Security
Don't be a money mule
A money mule is a person who transfers illegally obtained money between different payment accounts—often in different countries—on behalf of others.
Learn the signs
  • Safety & Security
How to Avoid Peer-to-Peer (P2P) App Scams
How safe are peer-to-peer (P2P) payment applications and how can you avoid being scammed? We explain the ins and outs here.
Read on
  • Business
  • Safety & Security
10 Ways Small Businesses Can Fight Fraud
Fraud incidents tend to disproportionately affect small businesses since the relative size of a financial loss makes up a much bigger chunk of revenue compared with larger organizations. Learn how to fight back.
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  • Safety & Security
Can You Spot a Phishing Scam?
Every day, thousands of people fall victim to fraudulent emails, texts and calls from scammers pretending to be their bank. It’s time to put scammers in their place.
Learn how
  • Business
  • Safety & Security
Protect Your Business IT Assets
This article addresses two problem areas that are of particular concern to business owners and operators: old computers and software updates.
Learn how
  • Business
Avoiding Common Small Business Start-Up Problems
Starting a new business? Set yourself for success by avoiding some of these common pitfalls.
Learn more
  • Safety & Security
Is your internet browser up to date?
Internet browser updates are often made to fix security issues and running an older version may invite hackers into your system.
Learn more
  • Owning a Home
How to Prepare for Buying a Home
Many people try to buy a home backwards, a frustrating and unsatisfactory problem for all parties. Learn how to choose the right things to do first.
Read more
  • Getting Started
More About Safety and Security
Learn more about how to keep your identity and your finances safe and secure.
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  • Getting Started
More About Personal Finance
Take a deeper dive into important financial information for all stages of your life.
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  • Getting Started
More About Business Finances
Take a deeper dive into important financial topics about building and growing your business.
Explore
  • Getting Started
More About Home Ownership
Learn more about the ins and outs of buying and owning property.
Explore